Nothing can seem to halt the onward march of advertising. Its techniques of persuasion, and ever growing sums of money, mean that whole sectors of economic, social and cultural life now depend on it. Even political life is not immune.Advertising is forever spreading its tentacles. Recently it has conquered new territory in cyberspace. In France last year, before the current financial crisis, ads on the internet rose to more than $140m, overtaking cinema advertising revenues. Advertising’s (...)

Since the new US administration took over hopes of détente in Asia have dwindled. Negotiations with North Korea are on hold and recurrent incidents - such as the collision on 2 April between a Chinese fighter and an American EP-3 spy plane - are adding to the tension. In Moscow, which is keen to establish a new balance in its foreign policy, the National Missile Defence project is seen as a provocation.

Since Levon Ter-Petrossian was ousted by a palace coup three years ago, accused of wanting to sell out Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia’s Robert Kocharian and Azerbaijan’s Geydar Aliyev have held meetings to look for a peaceful solution to the conflict between their two countries. After four days of talks in Florida this April, and a meeting with President Bush, no result was announced; a further meeting will be held in June in Geneva. In the meantime public opinion in both countries is putting increasing pressure on the two leaders, asking them to harden their stances and not make compromises against their national interests.

This March President Vladimir Putin launched a five-year programme of “patriotic education”. But without the economic, social and political reforms Russia needs in order to shake off its current paralysis, this programme, with its old Soviet overtones, is unlikely to rally the Russian people. Short of money and respect, they have to live by their wits to survive. Take the workers of the JBI cement factory in Astrakhan for example.

For nearly 30 years Bahrain has been fighting for a return to democracy and a parliamentary system. In the last few months, with a new ruler in place, there has been major progress marked by the release of political prisoners and return of exiles. This is having an impact on the region, particularly the other kingdoms which are thinking hard about their own futures.

The Copts of Egypt, the largest Christian minority in the Middle East, have a long history, and have played an important part in creating modern Egypt. However, the heavy hand of the state and the upsurge of Islam have caused problems, which reflect a wider crisis affecting the whole of Egyptian society.

This March women’s rights activists in Pakistan held a nationwide demonstration against “domestic violence”, demanding access to justice for thousands of women who are tortured and murdered for disobeying their fathers, brothers or husbands. In India, thousands more are murdered every year because their dowries are considered insufficient. And the murderers can usually rely on tacit support from the public, complicity on the part of the police and leniency from the courts.

Young, working class voters stayed away from the French local elections this spring to show their displeasure at the absence of a social programme: millions are excluded from real citizenship by unemployment, starvation wages and a decline in public services. The elections also revealed a widespread wish for decisions to be taken closer to the grass roots and for further decentralisation on the lines of other European countries.